But there was a notable vacancy. "In the new coffee shops that have sprung up to cater to Western aid workers, white faces were conspicuous by their absence," says Rob.

"Aid agencies have shut their offices for the day and many United Nations staff members are working from home amid heightened concerns about the risk of Islamic terrorism or rebel assaults. Anti-Western rhetoric was plastered across the morning's newspapers, which lumped the ICC in with the UN, the US, and other Western countries," he says.

• Brazil's Car Culture: Correspondent Andrew Downie spotted a small item in a São Paulo newspaper about US franchises expanding into Brazil and decided to call a few of those listed. That's how he came up with the Carl's Jr. example for his story about Brazil's expanding middle class. But he notes that while São Paulo now has Carl's Jr. fast food in common with Los Angeles (where the hamburger chain started), it has L.A. congestion as well.

"You can see the prosperity in the traffic. It's reported that 1,000 new cars are hitting the streets each day. Traffic was always difficult, now it's worse. I spoke to one commuter who said that he left his house at 7:15 a.m. to get to work by 8 a.m. Now, if he leaves at the same time, he gets to work by 9 a.m. "